Plaid leader says Wales has real chance for change

Rhun ap Iorwerth accused Labour of not knowing the difference between right and wrong

There is a "real opportunity" for change in Wales at the next election after 25 years of Labour rule, Plaid Cymru's leader has said.

Rhun ap Iorwerth said his party must seize that opportunity and "build trust" in the run-up to the 2026 Senedd election.

He told his party conference that voters faced the question of accepting second best or taking "that first step towards becoming the nation we know we can be".

Ap Iorwerth accused Welsh Labour of being unable to tell the difference right and wrong after a year dominated by donations to the former first minister Vaughan Gething.

The party's conference threatened to be overshadowed on Friday by a row about the Plaid's leader at Cyngor Gwynedd, Dyfrig Siencyn, after he refused to apologise to the victims of paedophile headteacher Neil Foden.

Senior figures said his position at the top of the county council is untenable after his interview with Newyddion S4C.

Plaid Cymru secured its best-ever result at a UK general election in July as it won four Westminster seats, but it has never won a Senedd election since devolution in 1999.

However, Plaid has worked with Labour in government as a coalition partner and, more recently, as part of a co-operation agreement.

Ap Iorwerth brought that deal - which had been due to last until December - to an abrupt end in May.

The leader told the conference: "Wales can’t afford another 25 years of Labour."

He accused Labour of lecturing “everyone else about right and wrong” but not being able to "see the difference themselves" over the £200,000 donation to former first minister Gething from a man previously convicted of environmental offences.

The row was one of the factors that led to his ousting in the summer.

Ap Iorwerth added: "Unlike Eluned Morgan, I will acknowledge that some things are broken but more importantly I’ll be determined that nothing is beyond repair."

Rhun ap Iorwerth became party leader following the resignation of Adam Price in 2023.

Ap Iorwerth told party members a Plaid Cymru government would "break the cycle of short-term thinking which short-changes Wales".

He vowed to support the NHS by investing in preventative health measures and would bring forward a new budget within 100 days of a Plaid government "with a promise that spending on preventative health measures will increase every year".

"No more sticking plaster, no more blaming the individual, no more passing the buck."

During his speech at the Principality Stadium, ap Iorwerth announced he would appoint a minister for public health if he were to become first minister in May 2026 to ensure "a truly national mission of creating healthier lives which in turn delivers substantial savings".

He also committed to "clearing the emergency maintenance backlogs" at Welsh hospitals before 2030.

Earlier this week a critical incident was declared at Bridgend's Princess of Wales Hospital after long-term damage was found to its roof.

He also said Plaid Cymru would "ensure that children are taught to read in a way that works, using best practice in a way Welsh government seems intent on ignoring".

The party would launch an "ambitious retrofitting programme" so energy efficiency "is at the heart of our housing policy" and his party would also "enshrine in law a right to an adequate home".

He added Plaid would reinstate "meaningful targets for reducing child poverty, which remains a stubborn scourge on Welsh society".

'Seize that opportunity'

Speaking to Today on BBC Radio Four on Friday, he said people "sense or have sensed" an inevitability about Labour being the party in government in Wales "and that’s why people have gone back to them time and time again".

"Our message, especially with the new voting system in Wales, is that its not inevitable, they can have a change," he added.

As well as the more proportional system in 2026, the number of seats in Cardiff Bay will increase from 60 to 96 and polling suggests Plaid is in a strong position to challenge Labour.

It remains likely a deal of some kind will have to be struck between two or more parties to form a government following the next election.

But ap Iorwerth told journalists before the conference he "can't see a scenario" where Plaid would co-operate with the Welsh Conservatives or Reform UK.

Without a majority of the seats in the Senedd, Labour will have to strike a deal with one of the opposition parties again when it needs to pass next year's budget.

Ap Iorwerth said his party was not "seeking a budget deal" and "the ball is very much in Labour's court".

Analysis - Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales political editor

Plaid Cymru are closer than they ever have been to becoming the biggest party in the Senedd.

They have just had their best-ever general election result and some polling suggests they are neck-and-neck with Labour ahead of 2026.

The party is buoyant and feels that it has momentum. But with that comes the pressure to turn positive polling into Senedd seats.

As they get closer to potentially returning the first non-Labour first minister in the history of devolution, the scrutiny will also build up.

They are perhaps getting a taste of that at the start of conference with the row around Dyfrig Siencyn.